kahun

Kahun, also known as Lahun, is an ancient Egyptian site in the Faiyum Oasis. Located near the Bahr Yussef canal, it represents a planned Middle Kingdom settlement dating to the 12th Dynasty (roughly 1870–1800 BCE). The site was established to house the workers who built and serviced the royal pyramid complex at the nearby temple site of Lahun, reflecting an early example of a purpose-built urban community.

The remains include a grid-like layout of mud-brick houses, workshops, a bakery, granaries, administrative buildings, and a small cemetery. The architecture and organization suggest regular provisioning and a degree of social planning aimed at supporting laborers and their families over extended periods. The site provides rare insights into daily life, diet, craft production, and the economic framework of a labor-based settlement in ancient Egypt.

A key archaeological find associated with Kahun is the Kahun Papyrus, an ancient Egyptian medical text discovered during Petrie’s excavations in the late 19th century. The papyrus, often called the Kahun Gynecological Papyrus, contains guidelines on women’s health, pregnancy, and childbirth, along with other medical and veterinary remedies. It is valued for its approach to routine clinical practices and its glimpse into medical knowledge during the Middle Kingdom.

Excavations at Kahun were led by Flinders Petrie, with later work by other scholars expanding understanding of the site’s layout, economy, and social structure. Today, Kahun is recognized as one of the earliest planned urban communities in ancient Egypt and an important source for studying the organization of labor, housing, and early Egyptian medicine.